Algorithm for Instagram

Perhaps one of the more popular social media outlets is Instagram. Many people enjoy the simplicity and organic feed Instagram has to offer. Unfortunately just as Facebook, Twitter and Google plus have done, Instagram will also be implementing an algorithm, which pushes more popular posts to the top of your feed. According to Instagram, people are not seeing around 70 percent of posts on their feeds (Isaac, 2016). Of course that may largely be due to the thousands of brands and companies people are following that allow friends and families posts to be swallowed up in the chaos of posts.

Like many social media outlets, Instagram is rapidly growing each month. The implamentation of this algorithm will allow for more personalized posts to appear. According to the New York Times,

“That could mean that if your best friend posted a photo of her new Bernese mountain dog’s puppies five hours ago while you were on a flight without Internet connectivity, Instagram might place that image at the top of your feed the next time you open the app. Based on your history of interaction with that friend, Instagram knows you probably would not want to miss that picture. “

This sounds totally awesome to some people and not so favored by others. The plan for Instagram is to boost up more popular posts and make sure those users that people interact with most are being both seen and heard on Instagram. Learning how to work this algorithm may be difficult for users if organic photo sharing is something your good at.

This has a lot of people upset, as the organic feed offered by Instagram is a favorite feature amongst many users. Unfortunately, Instagram has adopted this new form of photos sharing just as other social media giants have.

This may be exciting news for marketers who are very involved with their consumers via Instagram. Products and promotions may be able to be seen for longer or by a larger audience if marketers can figure out how to work this new algorithm feature.

The ability to take advantage of this algorithm may be challenging for some to understand, but brands and organization that use Instagram on a daily basis may benefit from this new feature, generating more followers and interacting more with users.

Resources

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/what-instagrams-new-algorithm-could-mean-agencies-and-brands-170243